My latest book club read took me by surprise, in a good way. I never would have imagined liking a Russian finance and murder thriller. Yet Red Notice by Bill Browder turned out to be a very interesting story. Even when the author delved too deeply into financial, legal and illegal nitty gritty, it was still a page turner.

Red Notice by Bill Browder

Synopsis (an excerpt from Goodreads)

A real-life political thriller about an American financier in the Wild East of Russia, the murder of his principled young tax attorney, and his dangerous mission to expose the Kremlin’s corruption.

Bill Browder’s journey started on the South Side of Chicago and moved through Stanford Business School to the dog-eat-dog world of hedge fund investing in the 1990s. It continued in Moscow, where Browder made his fortune heading the largest investment fund in Russia after the Soviet Union’s collapse. But when he exposed the corrupt oligarchs who were robbing the companies in which he was investing, Vladimir Putin turned on him and, in 2005, had him expelled from Russia.

In 2007, a group of law enforcement officers raided Browder’s offices in Moscow and stole $230 million of taxes that his fund’s companies had paid to the Russian government. Browder’s attorney Sergei Magnitsky investigated the incident and uncovered a sprawling criminal enterprise. A month after Sergei testified against the officials involved, he was arrested and thrown into pre-trial detention, where he was tortured for a year. On November 16, 2009, he was led to an isolation chamber, handcuffed to a bedrail, and beaten to death by eight guards in full riot gear…

Review

The reason this book worked for me is because Browder’s manner of writing was straightforward. While some of the more business heavy content went over my head, I found myself very wrapped up in Browder’s voice and personal account of this crazy situation.

His early experiences as a young financier right through to his ongoing mission as a human rights activist were gripping. It was hard, at times, to believe that this was a true story being told by the protagonist himself. The corruption in Russia, as detailed by Browder, is unfathomable.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say there were times I thought Browder was a narcissistic workaholic. His family must have suffered such frustration at his hyper focus on anything but them. Not to mention the dangers Browder brought upon himself and his family coming up against an angered Putin.

Red Notice was however compelling, enlightening and scarily current as Browder and his continued efforts were featured in my local newspaper less than two months ago.

The book not only held my interest, but I passed it off to Tony and he read it in record time.

Despite my initial reservations, I would definitely say this was a book worth reading.

Side Note 1

Red Notice is not the only unexpected thing I’ve found myself into recently. Stranger Things is now on my watch list and I can’t stop!  Science fiction-horror? Definitely not my usual thing. But hey, maybe my taste in entertainment is finally evolving!

Side Note 2

In addition to reading Red Notice, I began my first audio book. I never read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie two book clubs ago, so decided I’d give it a try on audio. Not sure I’m the best person for audio books or that this book was a good one to start with, but I’m willing to see how it goes until the end.

Next Up

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Everyone is raving about this book. It is so popular, I am #260 on the library hold list!

A new year and my first blog post in three weeks. I’m not going to lie – I really enjoyed the break. The truth is, I have a weird love-hate relationship with technology and social media.  Suffice to say, there are times when I can only sing their praises – GPS and the cool Facetime filters I recently discovered with my sister and niece, ♥ Love! And then there’s the random Facebook rant when I can’t quite figure out what has happened to society. And please don’t get me started on Twitter. Good God! What is the President of the United States doing? That’s rhetorical!!! Please don’t answer – I can’t handle it.

So, in 2019 I’m redefining my relationship with technology and social media. I’m not 100% sure what that means quite yet, but I plan to introduce some kind of healthy change in that area. If technology can change as quickly and as much as it does, then I think the way I handle it should change too. More on that at a future time.

Have you made any changes in your technology or social media habits? I’d be interested to know how people have made peace with the ever-changing landscape of communication and information sharing.

What About Resolutions in 2019?

While my plan for online activity is not yet clear, I have decided to start off 2019 with a resolution or two that aren’t quite so dramatic. The first of which is easy –  stay the course. As far as my day to day goes, I feel like I’m in a good groove with my writing, the book, wifing, parenting and dog mommying. So, I’m going to stick with all of that.

Additionally, and this one is super basic, I’m going to keep track of my phone and keys. More so my phone. My whole family has a running joke, “Mom never knows where her phone is.” It’s true, for some reason I find it very difficult to keep track of, especially when I leave the house. I knew I had a problem when I left it at my sister’s, 45 minutes away, and I didn’t bother to retrieve it for three days.

Tony gave me some simple, yet solid, advice recently that I’m doing my very best to follow. He said he never leaves the house, or anywhere for that matter, without going through a mental checklist of:

• Phone
• Keys
• Wallet

I’m trying very hard to get into this habit. It’s doesn’t solve the problem of losing my phone inside my house on the daily, but it has been helpful getting me out the door without having to run back in. Full disclosure, the struggle is real! Yesterday I got into my car without my car keys. Ugh! Always something.

Here’s to a healthy, happy and peaceful 2019! Good luck in making any resolutions you may have made a reality.

I love a good theme – costume themes, party themes and especially gift themes. Recently, I thought of a couple’s gift idea that I thought was pretty clever, if I do say so myself. I’m sure I’m not the first to ever put these items together, but I was pretty pleased with the collection when I did. So, I thought I’d share.

It’s so simple!

A José & Rosé Gift Basket

BTW – did you know that placing the acute accent on a vowel, such as é or á is as simple as holding that letter down on the keyboard of your Mac? When you do, your accent options pop up and you can choose which one you need. This is also true on your iPhone. Who knew? Probably everyone but me, but maybe this is helpful to some.

OK, back to my José & Rosé gift idea…

I gathered just a few items for each part of the theme – José Cuervo Tequila, Margarita Mix and Spanish nuts for Him and a nice bottle of Rosé wine, a bunch of roses and a box of chocolates for Her. You could certainly build on these themes and create an even more dramatic basket but, for my recent purpose, three items for each worked well and I hope made a nice impression.

There you have it – my José Rosé gift idea. Simple, fun, good for a his and hers gift together or just one boozy basket for a guy or girl alone.

Olé and Rosé All Day!

Last week I was out to dinner with three other people. Drinks were served and straws were not offered. Two of my fellow diners requested straws. For the sake of conversation, I said, “you know that straws are so 2017, right?”

In the interest of not selling anyone out, my fellow diners will remain nameless. Let’s just say, they were close enough that I felt my comment would be taken in the light-hearted vein it was intended. I’m all for respecting many sides of an argument.

My statement was met with, “I know, but I prefer a straw for hygienic reasons.” I legitimately appreciated that. I have also thought about how many lips come across restaurant glassware. I’ve further wondered how well those glasses are cleaned. Yuck, I hate overthinking stuff like this!

Just My Opinion

My opinion on straws is this – I can do without them. Not necessarily for environmental reasons, rather, they are simply not a necessity. If the cleanliness of a restaurant glass is a concern, I can always take my napkin and give the rim a good wipe down before my first sip.

Honestly, I’m not sure if the hype about plastic straws and their detriment to the world’s oceanic well-being is a bit overstated. God knows, it’s hardly a new story if it’s not delivered in an annoyingly overdramatic, life-threatening way. But, as for straws I don’t mind skipping them if, in some small way, it might help. California has now officially banned plastic straws from being served at restaurants. Patrons must ask for one and only then shall they receive. I can only imagine the judgement thrown out to anyone daring to ask would be enough to make anyone think twice.

Even though I like the smooth and steady feeling of drinking from a straw, I have also come to avoid them because I once read the pursing of lips when sipping on a straw can contribute to those unsightly vertical lines around your mouth. I already feel old enough, if I can avoid something that adds to an aged look I, by golly, will take the pass.

I know that giving up straws alone won’t solve the world’s pollution problems, but I’m happy to take this step toward an Earth-friendly lifestyle and maybe a smoother smile. If even one sweet turtle can be saved, I will do my part. If ever I am desperate for a straw, I guess I’ll go the reusable metal or glass route.

More on the Subject

Check out this Business Insider article for more about the demise of plastic straws.

What do you think about the use or ban of straws?